


the arrival of Izumi

by Hail_the_gay



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Everyone Is Gay, Except Katara, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Light Angst, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Polyamory, Zuko (Avatar) is a Good Parent, my beta was google docs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29376312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hail_the_gay/pseuds/Hail_the_gay
Summary: “You might want to sit down.” Sokka replies, shifting the blankets in his arms. Zuko’s face contorts into one of confusion, but sits next to him nonetheless. Sokka pulls away a section of the blankets, revealing a small, pink face, thick black hair surrounding it. Zuko’s jaw drops.—Or—Izumi’s life under Fire lord Zuko and his husband Sokka
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula/Suki (Avatar), Izumi & Sokka (Avatar), Izumi & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 72





	the arrival of Izumi

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you so much for reading! I’m hoping you like this, it took forever to write.
> 
> Drink more water, right now.
> 
> Love you and goodnight!
> 
> -Parker

The day started the same as any other. Zuko rose with the sun, leaving his room to sit in the garden and meditate. He basked in the rising warmth over the trees, feeling fire course through his blood and listening to the turtle-ducks quack lightly. After an hour or so, he feels uniform heavy footsteps rise behind him, but to no alarm. He keeps his eyes closed as warm lips press on his forehead and his husband keeps walking through the garden to their shared office. He spends the last of his meditations practicing breaths, focusing on the sun and its power. He finally opens his eyes and stands, ascending the stairs back to his room to change into his fire lord robes. Guards stand outside the room and bow when he exits, Zuko returning the nod. 

Sokka is already in his office when he enters. “Sorry if I disturbed you.” He says, not looking up from papers on his desk. Zuko sits opposite him, at his own desk with a nameplate that says _Flameo Hotman_. A joint gift from Toph and Aang that he was too fond of to keep private.

“You haven’t disturbed me the last three years you’ve done it. Why would you disturb me now?” Zuko replies, grabbing a quill from the glass case. “It never bothers. Don’t stop.” 

Sokka gives a light smile as he keeps reading his paper. “Oh no.” He whispers to himself, but immediately catching the attention of his husband. “What?” Zuko says. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, a fire nation village on the outskirts got attacked by fire bending terrorists the other day. I’m going to check on them with some of my people.” Sokka stood, grabbing a bag and running out of the room, leaving Zuko to wonder what had happened. 

He fled the room to find a council member. If Sokka had been informed, then why hadn’t he?

Quickly he found councilman Chongan, his second advisor and the grumpiest old man he’d met in his twenty-five years. “Councilman, I was recently informed of a terrorist attack on a small village. Why did nobody tell me before? My husband was the one to let me know and he fled without a second thought.”

Chongan raised a hand to his collar. “My apologies Lord Zuko. We didn’t think you’d be interested in those matters.”

Zuko sputters a bit. “N- not interested! I care about my people and even if the smallest village is under attack, I deserve to know!” He breathes, trying to calm himself down. “Just. Please let me know next time.”

“Of course Lord Zuko. I’ll be sure to inform you of any attacks in the future.” Chongan bows and swiftly walks away, forcing himself out of the stressful conversation. Zuko sighs and wanders through the echo-y halls of the palace. Even at 25, he still finds new places every day. He rediscovered his long-forgotten Mother’s secret library hidden behind a wall in the sunroom, separate from the palace the other day and spent hours perusing and reading the old scrolls and tomes hidden in there, even finding old waterbending scrolls and a large tome on the history of airbending that he sent to Aang and Katara.  
The day gets colder as it moves along and Zuko is lonelier and lonelier. Sure, he has his assistant, Hanako, but being handed papers and making small conversation about political problems in his ruling kingdom wasn’t just the same as having long heartfelt talks with your husband of 3 years about your life and future to come. 

“Last paper Lord Zuko. Then you can take the rest of the night off.” Hanako reminds him, giving him a final clause to allow Fire Nation tanks to be remodeled and rebuilt. He thinks for a moment before refusing the request, since they weren’t planning on war anytime soon, since all of the nations leaders happened to be friends. Except the earth kingdom. Nobody was a fan of their queen, but she didn’t seem like the type to be waging war on anybody anytime soon.

“Thank you Hanako. If we could get these sent out and announced before the next Sunday, that would be fantastic. And please, just Zuko. I’ve told you this before, I’ve known you for 8 years, I think we’re past formalities.” Zuko stands, giving Hanako a bow and taking leave towards his own room after her return of the gesture.

“Of course Lo- Zuko. Have a good night!” She says, hesitating and replacing his name without the title.

“You too!” He says, waving a dismissive hand over his shoulder. He passed the threshold into his sanctuary of comfort. This was his place and his only. He dropped the robes onto the floor and slid under the silk covers of the massive bed in the room. He hoped Sokka was doing alright, he was sure the journey couldn’t be too far but making sure everyone was ok would take careful time. At least a week, maybe two if there were complications.

But he was quickly proven wrong, when in the garden meditating with the sun three days later, he heard the familiar footsteps of water tribe boots approach. “Let me finish this chakra and I’ll join you.” he says quickly, falling back into the mediation of his heart. He hears a light laugh escape Sokka and footsteps slow to a stop near the bench in front of the pond. Zuko stands after a minute in silence, walking over to Sokka. The man was holding a large bundle and Zuko assumed he picked something up on the way back. 

“What have you got?” He asks. 

“You might want to sit down.” Sokka replies, shifting the blankets in his arms. Zuko’s face contorts into one of confusion, but sits next to him nonetheless. Sokka pulls away a section of the blankets, revealing a small, pink face, thick black hair surrounding it. Zuko’s jaw drops.

“Her name is Izumi.” Sokka breaks the silence. The baby’s --Izumi’s eyes are closed and her face is peaceful. “A majority of the town was burnt to the ground and this sweet thing was left behind. Nobody else in the village was willing to take her in, so I offered to bring her back here. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” Zuko says after a bit. “Can I hold her?” He reaches his arms for Izumi and Sokka willingly hands her over. “You didn’t think this through, did you?”

“Not at all.” Sokka smiles. “We’ll figure it out. Many of the staff have children, we’ll ask for advice.”

“Yes, I supposed we will.” Izumi’s eyes open and a soft gurgle escapes her mouth, a smile reaching her face.

~~~

“DaaAd!” Izumi’s familiar scream echoes through the hallways and Zuko slowly stands to find the 6 year old. He looks towards Rin, the guard stationed outside his office. She smiles and nods towards a hallway leading to the library. “She’s in the library.”

“Thank you Rin.” He smiles and walks towards the frequently used room. Izumi stands in the middle of it, arms crossed and pout familiar. 

“Dad. You promised that we would go on a walk today with Papa but Papa’s out now and you’re busy and I want to go on a walk!” She got her very energetic side from growing around Sokka, ever the hyperactive man. “I want to see the turtleducks.”

“And we can see the turtleducks, let’s go Zumi.” He holds a hand out and she immediately brightens, running towards him and taking his hand. “I’m sorry for keeping you, I’m pretty busy.”

“That’s annoying, you should tell everyone to stop giving you work.”

“I’ll see what I can do next time.” He leads her out to the garden and the two stroll around the pond.

“When can I start firebending?” Izumi questions, seeing the open air sparring center on the side of the garden.

“We’re not even sure you _can_ firebend. But if you can, soon.”

“I can firebend!” Izumi takes her hand out of her fathers and stands silent for a moment before punching forward and shooting a small burst of fire out of her knuckles. Zuko is stunned before a grin creeps it's way onto his face. 

“You can firebend.” He whispers to himself. “When we go back in, I’ll contact Jeong Jeong and see if he’s able to give you beginner lessons.”

“But I want to train with swords too. Your dual swords are so cool!” Izumi cheers, raising her arms.

“Then Piandao can come along too. He was my blade teacher.” Zuko reassures her. “And your Papa’s.” 

Izumi smiles from ear to ear and waves her hands in the air. “Woo!”

“But, we’re gonna start with the firebending, once you have that down, we’ll move to swords.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. Thanks Dad!” 

“Of course, Zumi.” Zuko says, leading her back into the palace.

~~~

“You’re such a jerk!” Izumi shouts, laughing through her words. Her hands waver and she takes a deep breath in to steady herself. “Dad, tell Papa to stop messing with me.” She says to Zuko, who grins.

“In good conscience, Sokka, stop trying to make Izumi fall. But I can’t stop you.”

“Great, permission to mess with my daughter, Lord Zuko?”

“Permission granted, Lord Sokka.” Sokka nods and moves over to Izumi, poking her stomach through her tunic. She squeals and curls her legs up to her stomach. 

“Papa!” 

“What’s up?” Sokka says, tapping her bare foot. “Is something wrong, Izzy?” He tickles her knee, causing her to fall onto the red mat with a thump, ending the handstand competition running between father and daughter. Zuko quickly follows, allowing his arms to unlock and fall backwards. 

“ _Haha!_ 34 and I still got it!” He raises his arms towards the ceiling in celebration. Sokka gives him a high five. 

“So unfair Dad!” Izumi sits up tailor-style. “You’ve been doing that longer.”

“And you’ve been hanging out with Ty Lee since you came here. Believe me, you’ve had more practice.”

“Aunt Ty Lee- yeah. Aunt Ty Lee _has_ been teaching me longer. Aunt Suki too.”

“See, totally fair. You saw Suki at the Boiling Rock” Sokka retorts, mostly to Zuko. “Now, if you two will excuse me, I have to catch up with Iroh over a game of Pai Sho.”

“I want to see Grandpa Iroh!” Izumi whines. “He makes the _best_ tea in the fire nation.”

“Well, you have to go to school. I’m making you walk today. Grandpa Iroh will be here when you get home.” Sokka says, pulling Izumi onto her feet and guiding her out of the gates. “Have a good day!” He and Zuko say at the same time. Izumi waves back, blowing air kisses, which her fathers gratefully return. 

Zuko sighs, still lying on his back as Sokka moves to go back into the palace.

“What’s wrong?” Sokka asks, giving a sigh of his own and leaning against the doorframe.

“Why can’t you be more flexible? Mai and I used to parkour on our dates when I thought I was still straight.”

“Wow... Are you saying I am completely inflexible?”

“I mean, with Mai and Ty Lee as the most flexible couple I’ve ever seen setting the bar, yes. You are inflexible.”

“Fine. But are we not the sexiest couple ever?” 

“Have you _seen_ Suki and Azula. For Tui and La I wish I was a sexy lesbian like them.”

“Suki’s bi.”

“I wish I was a sexy woman loving women like them.”

“True, true. Who doesn't thou-”

“I heard my name.” A new voice interrupts the conversation, making the two turn their heads to Azula and Suki walking into the garden. 

“What’re you doing here?” Zuko asks, standing up to greet them.

“We felt like coming over. We missed you.” Suki says, giving the men a hug. Azula follows, with lighter and quicker embraces.

“And Kyoshi Island was out of things to do, we left before I set anything on fire out of boredom.” Azula explains, getting a glare from Suki. “Where’s Izumi? I want to see my darling niece.”

“And I was hoping to talk to Iroh and Toph.” 

“Oh, perfect. Suki, follow me. I was just going to see Iroh. Toph should be in her room, but she wanders, so we’ll see.” Sokka leads her back into the palace, towards Iroh’s study.

“Sorry, Zu Zu,” Zuko says, having gotten into the habit of calling his sister by his own nickname after realizing it was equally applicable. “Izumi just went off to school. She’ll be back this afternoon.”

“Please tell me you aren’t sending her to The Royal Fire Academy for Girls. I hated it there.” 

“Don’t worry, she’s never stepping foot in that place, I endured years of whining from you, Mai and Ty-Lee. I don’t want the same complaining from my own daughter. Also I looked into the school and it’s just... Not good? Their curriculum is weird and they had odd ‘traditions’ that were actually abuse, so Izumi’s just going to a normal fire nation school with Akemi and Taishiro.”

“Oh good. Mai and Ty Lee’s children are so well behaved. Let’s go inside, I want to see the changes you’ve made.” Azula takes his arm and walks in the same entrance Suki and Sokka did only a few minutes ago.

“Well, if you notice a lot of statues of me in my Fire Lord garb, it’s because Toph won’t stop taking Ozai’s statues down to his cell and rebending them into me while telling him everything I’ve done. I kind of admire it, but Ozai had a _lot_ of statues.”

Azula laughs and runs down the hall screaming back to him that she needs to see Toph too.

~~~

“Zumi, why are you still up?” Zuko asks from the doorframe to the 14 year old’s bedroom.

“Math assignment.” She grumbles back. “It’s due tomorrow.”

“How about you go to bed? Then you can finish your homework in the morning. You’ll have enough time, I promise. The sun is supposed to rise at 5:00 tomorrow and you can cut your meditation short.”

“No, it’s healthy to do the full meditation. I always get worried about bad luck if I don’t finish it. Uncle Aang always says morning meditation brings him good luck, and I’ve never been unlucky. So maybe it's meditation. I’ve been doing them on time since I was 6.”

“You don’t have to cut your meditation short, but I still want you to go to bed.”

“I can’t.”

“Why? You’ll still have plenty of time to finish it in the morning, even with the full meditation. Akemi and Taishiro can go with you on the trolley. It’ll be much faster than walking.”

“I just… can’t. If I don’t finish this assignment I’ll get a bad mark, if I get a bad mark I won’t get into my classes next year and I’ll have to do summer school but I just want to travel with you and Papa this summer and-” Izumi is on the verge of tears and she’s dropped her pen on her worksheet, her hands visibly quivering. “And I need to show everyone I’m just as good as my parents.”

“Hey, hey.” Zuko sits down in a chair next to her, taking her shaking hands in his own. “What’s this about?”

“You and Papa are so successful and great and smart and I’m not. I’m stupid and worthless and I don’t deserve anything you’ve given me.” Her whole body is shaking and she’s breathing shallow.

“Izumi, look at me. You are anything but worthless and stupid. You are way smarter than I was at your age. At your age I was still trying to find Aang, and it wasn’t going too well. You are the best. You’re _full_ of worth. If I thought you were worthless, would your Papa and I have adopted you?”

Izumi is too shaken to speak, but she shakes her head no.

“You’re right. Now, can you breathe with me? In, out. Deep breath in, out.” He directs her breathing. “Just like meditation breathing. Think about this morning. And every morning since you were six. In, out.” She breathes deeply in and lets out a puff of steam with every breath released. “Perfect.” He squeezes her hand. “Just perfect.”

“Thanks, dad. I don’t- I don’t know what that was.” She trails off, looking at the floor.

“I think it was a panic attack. I used to get them all the time because of Ozai. But I went to people I trusted and loved and I found comfort. You can come to me or your Papa anytime. Or any of your aunts or uncles. We love and trust you. How about you go to bed? I'll excuse you out of school tomorrow. For a good reason.”

Izumi nods and pulls back the covers on her bed, sliding underneath them. “I love you dad.”

Zuko smiles as he walks out. “I love you too, Turtle duck.”

~~~

“I’m bringing my boyfriend over for dinner tonight.” Izumi announced in the garden while hanging upside down from a tree.

Zuko’s eyes went wide and Sokka broke into a smile. 

“If that’s alright with you?” She continued.

“Of course!” Sokka said. “Does he know who we are?”

“Sort of. I told him you two were important government figures, but never gave him names, or mentioned that Dad’s the fucking _fire lord_.”

“That’s not good.” Zuko interrupted, scoffing. “You’re seeing him at school today, right? Tell him then. I don’t want to give him a heart attack when you start leading him into the palace.”

“I’ll see what I can do without announcing to the entire school that I’m the princess. Kaori’s pretty shy, don’t scare him.”

“Who do you want at dinner? Just us?” Sokka asks.

“Kind of. Again, I don’t want to scare him but Aunt Suki and Aunt Azula don’t come around as much because they want to travel, so I was thinking that everyone could come to dinner. Ty Lee and Mai, I don’t want the kids here though. He sees enough of Akemi and Taishiro at school, I don’t think He needs to endure a dinner with them. Suki and Azula, Grandpa Iroh, Grandma Ursa, Ikem and Aunt Kiyi… um. Who else is here right now?”

“Aunt Toph is in Republic City with Aang, so she’s gone. I think that’s it, Turtle duck. No other family’s here.” Zuko fills in.

Izumi pouts for a bit. “That’s annoying. I don’t think we have enough calm people to level out the scary ones.”

“Isn’t everyone scary if they’re part of the royal family? I’m intimidating when I don’t mean to be.” Zuko replied. “But don’t worry, we’ll make sure Azula and Mai get the briefing and don’t scare Kaori too much.”

“Yeah, those guys, but I was really talking about you and Aunt Suki.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, you. Look at that scar. It looks so badass, though it comes with bad connotations. That side of your face almost _always_ looks angry. And Aunt Suki just has an amazing personality that can be so intimidating. But you should still talk to Aunt Azula, Aunt Mai should be great as long as she knows what’s happening.”

“Alright, Iz. Now, get to school, you’re going to be late.” Sokka interrupts before Izumi has time to go on another rant about her intimidating family members.

Izumi smiles and gives her parents a hug each, running out the side gate to where Akemi and Taishiro. All three of them head down the path towards the trolley line that’ll take the teens to school.

*

The doors of a private dining room separate from the larger one --for feasts among large groups of family or council members-- opens. Izumi’s thick black hair covers her laughing face as a quiet boy with dark brown hair in a red tunic and black pants with a shy grin on his face follows.

Izumi stops in front of the table, where two empty chairs sit in between Suki and Ty Lee. “Dad, Papa, other assorted family members, this is Kaori!” She gestures to the boy next to her, who gives a bow to the table and keeps his head down, a blush spreading across his face.

The two sit down, Izumi next to Ty Lee and Kaori next to Suki. “Ok, brief rundown, darling.” Izumi points to the people around the table, naming each one as she goes along. “This is Ty Lee, Mai, Ikem, Ursa, Kiyi, Zuko, Sokka, Iroh, Azula, and Suki. There, now you’re acquainted.” Each figure gave a smile or a small greeting when mentioned.

“Very nice to meet you all.” Kaori says softly. “Thank you for having me in your home.”

“Of course, Kaori. You’re welcome any time.” Zuko replies, a smile on his face. Kaori’s head is still down when a door opens and platters of roast duck and fruit are brought to the table. There is a chorus of ‘thank you’s’ from everyone as they’re set down and hands are brought to the platters to start cutting and serving. Izumi grabs both her and Kaori’s plates to be served, knowing the teen won’t do it himself. She’s proven right when Kaori gives her a light nudge on the leg, whispering “Why’d you do that?” to the girl.

“Because I know you won’t do it yourself.”

“So, Kaori.” Azula speaks up from her side of the table. “Izumi talks about you a lot. Are you a fire bender?”

“Aunt Azula!” Izumi shouts, offended. 

“No, it’s ok.” Kaori looks up, not quite looking the princess in the eyes, but staring above her head, at the wall. “I am a fire bender.”

Azula hums her approval, and Suki cuts in, turning next to Kaori. “What do you like to do?”

“I like to read and play music, but I’m also very athletically inclined. I play on the school’s kuai ball team.”

Azula’s face lights up into a grin. “I used to play kuai ball _all_ the time, my school didn’t have a team, so I had to play with Zu Zu and Mai and Ty Lee and anyone else we wanted to defeat.”

“We should play a game sometime, adults against kids, we can get Akemi and Taishiro over here, along with Aang and Katara’s kids.” Zuko suggests, getting a cheer of agreement from the people around the table in their 30s and 40s. Izumi along with them.

“What team am I on?” Kiyi says. “I don’t think I count for the adults team, with all of your iconic power, but I am 29 now, ew.” She shudders, sticking her tongue out at the thought of getting old.

“You can play on the kids team.” Sokka says. “Tenzin’s too young to play and he’s taken a vow of pacifism. There will be some injuries if we play like we used to.”

“That would still make it 6-7. And Kaori’s _really_ good at kuai ball. Plus, you’re getting old, do you really think you’re going to beat us?” Izumi says, waving her fork around. The adults at the table mock offense.

“Oh, really.” Ty Lee and Suki cut in. “We’re still kyoshi warriors, you know.” Suki continues. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble.”

“But have you played kuai ball, Aunt Suki?”

“...No.” Suki pauses, having grown up on Kyoshi Island as an earth kingdom citizen, she had most definitely never played the fire nation game.

“That’s what I mean. Get Aunt Katara on your team, or Uncle Aang, Air Ball can’t be too different, right?”

“Your group did spend a few months in the fire nation, there’s no way Aang, _didn’t_ learn how to play kuai ball.” Mai points out. “And if he did, he definitely taught it to Katara.”

“Yeah, Aang and Katara know how to play kuai ball. So does Toph but we can’t let her or Lin and Su play. They would _murder_ everyone.” Sokka says.

“That’s great!” Kaori says. “I never thought the Avatar would be the type to play sports like that.”

“Believe me.” Zuko laughed. “He’s _exactly_ the type to play sports like that.”

“Oh.” Kaori whispers back.

“He just doesn't seem like it because he’s always calm as a public figure.”

“I’ll introduce him to you when we play the game.” Izumi says. “He’s very fun.”

“I trust that.” 

“Let’s get back to you, Kaori.” Ty Lee says from beside Izumi. “Your aura is the most _beautiful_ blue to go along with Izumi’s pinkish-purple!”

“Thank you?” Kaori says.

“Blue means trust, intelligence, calm, faith and stability!” Ty Lee explains. “It matches well with Izumi’s sensitive, caring, emotional, sympathetic, loving, royal and creative aura!”

“I still don’t believe in auras.” Mai groans to her wife.

“Says the one with the _very_ tan and indigo aura.” Ty Lee rebutters.

“Oh! That’s great! I wish I could read auras but the closest I’ve gotten is taking a spirituality class at school, which really just talked about auras and the spirit world. Very fascinating, but I never actually paid attention.” Kaori says.

“I could teach you! It’s usually easier if you’re a non-bender but, being a firebender will help with the spiritual and meditation aspect of reading auras.”

“The only reason I don’t read auras is because Toph already tells me how people are feeling, that’s why she’s always in meetings with me. To scout out liars.” Zuko backs up the statement. 

“No wonder I can never get past her. I’ve tried to sneak out so many times. She never lets me go, and the Bei Fong kids are always out. It’s so unfair!” Izumi whines. 

“When have you tried to sneak out?” Zuko questions, clasping his hands together. Izumi pales.

“Uhh, never. Don’t worry about it.” She says, suddenly very interested in her food.

“She’s snuck out to see me.” Kaori says, a grin on his face. Izumi looks up, jaw dropped, staring at her boyfriend. 

“Ori! Agni, just outing me to my parents why don’t you.” She says, trying to stop her smile.

Zuko and Sokka cross their arms, glaring across the table at their daughter. “Really.”

“If I had asked to go out, you would have made me go with guards and not to be offensive, they’re all great, but I’m not completely known as the princess.”

“Fair. I guess” Sokka dismisses. “But don’t think you’re not in trouble later.”

“Don’t worry, Zuko’s aura is green and Sokka’s is blue, you’re fine.” Ty Lee leans over to the teenage girl, giving her comfort. “They’re sympathetic and they forgive you.”

Izumi breathes a sigh of relief, thankful they weren’t too steamed about it.

“You said you like playing music. What instruments?” Ursa spoke up, previously very quiet.

“I play the tsungi horn mainly but I learned to play the dramyin recently.”

“He’s getting very good.” Izumi supplied.

“I once met a guy who played the dramyin very well. He wasn’t very smart mentally, but boy could he play a tune.” Sokka said. “Helped us get out of the Cave of Lovers by singing to badgermoles.”

“I’ve heard about that! From Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang! They had a totally different side of the story though, about how they kissed and got led out by a bunch of glowing crystals or something. Ew.” She mimes sticking a finger down her throat and rolls her eyes. Kaori looks offended and confused at the interaction.

“What! Love is beautiful!” He contradicts.

“Not when it’s your aunts and uncles.” Izumi mumbles.

~~~

A particularly loud thud alarmed Zuko and Sokka, pulling them out of their working trances. Legs curled around each other as they lay on opposite sides of a sofa in the library. The thud was followed by an enraged scream and the husbands looked at each other in concern.

“Was that Izumi?” Zuko asked, setting down his book.

“I think so.” Sokka replied, untangling himself from Zuko and sitting up.

“So we should go check on her, right?”

“I think so.” The two stood, rushing out of the room towards Izumi’s bedroom, where they ran into a teenage girl who was very familiar.

“Ahh!” She screamed, startled at having run into them. “Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Lord Sokka.” She quickly bowed. 

“Ume,” Sokka started, wondering what Izumi’s best friend was doing here. “What’s going on? Is Izumi okay?”

“She’s fine. Kaori broke up with her.”

“He did what?!” Zuko shouts. 

“Don't. Do anything to him, please. I was just going to get food.” Ume says, holding up her hands in defense, rushing off through the halls to the kitchen.

The two men started once again towards Izumi’s room, looking through the doorway to find Izumi on the lap of Tatsuo, another friend, sobbing her eyes out. She let out another pained sob as Tatsuo ran his hand over her spine, trying to comfort her. He adjusted his legs so she’d be between them and he’d be wrapping them around her and placing a hand through her hair.

“That asshole!” She choked out loudly. Tatsuo hums agreement, echoing “Asshole.”

“He was cheating on me! With _Akira_ of all people! She’s not even a good person.” 

Tatsuo presses a quick kiss to her cheek, whispering comfort. “He was harassing people at Daichi’s party. He was a shitbag and didn’t deserve you anyways.”

Ume pushes past both the men shouting “Asshat! Fucker bitch!” The other two look up and Zuko can clearly see the tear tracks imprinted into Izumi’s skin. Her red rimmed eyes widen and she pushes away from Tatsuo, who still keeps a comforting arm around her shoulder.

“Dad, Papa! What’re you doing here?” She wipes tears from her eyes.

“We heard yelling, so we came to check on you.” Zuko explains.

“But it seems your friends have got it all covered. We’ll let you scream in peace.” They make their exit, seeing Ume smile and Tatsuo giving a light two-fingered salute as Izumi crawls back into his warmth.

As they walk away, Zuko starts whispering. “Were you guys like that before I came along?”

“Nope. The only person who was really that touchy-feely was Toph and it was only when she couldn’t see and needed to hold onto someone for safety. And then you came along and we got much more cuddly because you were so warm”

“Then we don’t talk about it until she’s ready?”

“Yep.” Sokka agreed, reaching for his husband’s hand. “Let’s just see how it goes.”

***

“Hey, I think I’m moving to Republic City.” Are the first words Zuko heard out of his daughter's mouth that morning.

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” She says, twisting her hands in one another, timid.

“Why?”

“I want to get out of Caldera, and a lot of my friends are already living there.”

“Would your partners be going with you?”

“Yeah, we’d be staying at Air Temple Island with Aang and Katara and their kids. I miss Bumi and Kya and Tenzin. And Lin. I just need to explore the world before I’m fire lord.”

“Alright, sure! I’ll send a message to Aang to come here on Appa so you can go back.”

“Yeah, about that. I’ve been nursing a dragon and she’s full sized and I _have_ to take her with me, please don’t be mad, some of the guards have been helping me hide her.” She spits out, wincing.

“What.”

“Please don’t be mad!”

“How the fuck did you hide a dragon?!”

“It’s not too hard.”

Zuko laughs. “Agni, Zumi, of course you can take your dragon. How’d you get the egg?”

“I went traveling to see Ran and Shaw a couple years ago to learn from the dragons and found an abandoned baby dragon outside the gates on my way out. Took her in and have been raising her.”

“And her name?”

“Ryoko.”

“Like Roku?”

“I guess, it really just means “She who is dragon-like”, so it’s basic.”

“No, no, it’s a good name! I want to meet her.”

“Come with me.” Izumi grins and leads her father towards the back of the palace. Zuko following.

***  
“It’s quiet.” Sokka announces one evening as he and Zuko are lounging around. “Good thing I have this letter!” He whips out a sheet of paper form god knows where and Zuko looks up.

“How long have you been keeping that from me?”

“Like a day or two.” Sokka unfolds it and skims through, gasping.

“What? What happened?” 

“It seems there has been a proposal!”

“What?”

“Yes, Ume proposed to Tatsuo and Izumi.”

“Oh, thank la, I legalized polyamorous marriage years ago.”

“This is so exciting!” 

Zuko raises a hand to his mouth and Sokka’s brow furrows. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ll have to get a new throne. With three seats.”

“Didn’t Azula do that?”

“Yeah, but that’s long gone. We destroyed the Ba Sing Se drill a _long_ time ago.”

“But we at least have an idea of what it should be.”

Zuko hums agreement.

“Wait! _I’ve_ never sat on the throne. Why do Izumi’s partners get to sit on the throne.”

“Well, I dismantled the whole fire thing in the throne room, so…”

“Not quite, it’s just around the sides and back of the throne now.”  
“But still. I’m a little pissed about that.”

“You should’ve said something if you were so mad!”

***

Zuko pushed the tall door to Izumi’s room open. The young woman sat on her bed in a dressing robe, her long black hair pooled over her shoulders as she looked into a lockbox. At the footsteps of her father, her head shot up.

“Hey, dad.” She said with a smile, gratefully returned by Zuko.

“Are you excited?”

“Nervous is a better word for it. I made Ume and Tatsuo leave so they couldn’t psych me out.”

“Well I think you’re freaking them out more, because they’re in one of the studies with Sokka pacing and freaking out. They think you’re going to divorce them as soon as you’re crowned.”

“What? I would never!”

“I think you need to tell them that.”

“Huh.” Izumi closes the lockbox, standing. “I just needed to be alone for a bit, to process. I can’t believe you’re stepping down.”

“It’ll be great for both of us. You can be fire lord, and I can go settle down somewhere else, travel.”

“Yes, yes. It’ll be great. Now, I need to get my hair done.”

“Right. And just remember, my turtleduck. I’ll be here every step of the way.”

Izumi gives a grateful smile, giving her dad a hug. “Thank you, Dad.” She whispers, her face pressed into his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Izumi.”

“Could you send Ume and Tatsuo into the baths for me? I need to talk to them, let them know I’m not filing for divorce.”

Zuko laughs. “Of course.”

Izumi presses one last hug to her father and rushes into the hallway, towards the baths. Zuko follows, turning at a fork, towards the study where Izumi’s husband and wife reside.

“Hey, Ume, Tatsuo.” He says when he enters, making both of them look up in fear. “Izumi said to send you to the baths, so you can talk.” The two look at each other and stand, both giving Zuko a hug and racing towards Izumi, hand in hand. Sokka remains in a chair, reading a Water Tribe tome he had his dad send in. “And then there were two.” He says, sitting on the arm of Sokka’s chair. His husband looks up, giving him a kiss.

“It’ll always be us.”

“Don’t you think it’s odd?”

“What?” Sokka closes the papers and sets them on a table as Zuko stands and sits across from him. “Izumi getting coronated?”

“Exactly. Everyone’s here, and for a good reason this time and not some economic crisis I need backup for.”

“I think it’s odd. But good, too. When this is over, we’ll take a nice, long, trip to the Southern Water tribe, and the air temples, and Republic City. Izumi will be a great fire lord and we won’t have to worry.”

“I saw Bumi and Kya today. They were roaming the palace halls, just talking and I bumped into them. It’s also weird to see them, having grown. Bumi’s 26, same age as Izzy and Kya’s 19, which is _insane_ to me.”

“Huh. That is weird. I remember when they were just kids. Wee babies.”

Zuko smiles, basking in the silence before the door opens. Toph walks in, followed by Katara and Aang. “We heard you were in here, now scoot, Sifu Hotman.” Toph says, falling onto the couch next to Zuko. Sokka stands, giving Aang and Katara a hug.

“Where’d your spawn go?” He asks, giving a laugh to everyone.

“We put them in a room somewhere and we told them to stay put. Bumi and Kya can go wherever they want, but everyone else is under 18 so they are not allowed to leave the premises.” Aang explains. The previously closed door slams open once again and Ty Lee walks in followed by Mai.

“Your children are insufferable, Toph!” Mai growls, sitting next to the accused girl.

“Hey! Tell that to my womb and parenting skills.” 

“Su just smashed a table.” Ty Lee explained. “We don’t really know what room it was, but it didn’t look important.”

“Oh yeah! I found the room with the most Ozai propaganda, things with his face carved in ‘em, ect. and told them to have fun.” Toph replies, getting a smile out of everyone else, while Zuko laughs.

“Thanks Toph.”

“When we went in there to check on everyone, I didn’t really care what Akemi and Taishiro were doing, they’re in their 20s, Tenzin was sitting in the corner, quietly ripping up pieces of paper while Su and Lin were smashing lamps, burning portraits and screaming obscenities at Ozai’s face.”

The door opened once again and Azula and Suki sauntered in. “Who’s ready to get this party started?”

“Last day as fire lord, Zuko!” Aang cheered, followed by the rest of the room's inhabitants. “Hope it was a good one.”

“I promise you, it was.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it, if you have any feedback itd be much appreciated :)


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